Flight
:
:
:
Al was the first to wake that Sunday morning, internally cursing as his phone's alarm began to go off in his pocket. He had to squirm his hand out from under Mei in order to grab it, and by the time his eyes focused in on the hour, he nearly had a heart attack. Jumping up fast enough to wake the tiny woman that was sleeping in his arms, he began to search for the missing pieces of his costume as she sat up, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
"Is something wrong?" she whispered, her voice raspy and unrealistically adorable.
"I have to leave," he replied, grabbing the white mask and top hat from atop the entertainment center. "I have to be on a plane to Xing in less than two hours."
The girl's large eyes went a little dim, causing Al's stomach to twist into knots.
"Oh," was all she said.
"I'm really sorry, Mei," he quickly added, and sat down beside her. "I should've said something about it last night."
"No, no! It's okay!" she replied, forcing a smile. "I knew this was a going away party for you once Ling introduced us. I just didn't know you'd be going that far away."
They looked at each other, and Al's heartbeat quickened.
It was ridiculous. He had only just met this girl half a day ago, but he felt so completely enthralled by her, time be damned.
"Can I see your phone?" he asked her, and slowly, almost shyly, she handed it to him. He plugged his number into the phone, saved his name with a heart-eyed cat emoji beside it, and smiled as he handed it back to her.
"If it's alright with you, I'd like to keep talking to you," he said. "I know Xing is a big distance, but that's why I gave you my number, instead of asking for yours. If you don't want to continue… whatever this might become, just delete it. I'll respect your decision either way."
Mei's cheeks turned pink, then red as Al leaned in and pecked her cheek.
"Bye, Mei," he told her. "It was great meeting you."
In an instant, Al was up and moving towards his brother, who was cuddled up with a certain blonde on the small love seat. He shook his shoulder as softly as he could without bothering Winry, but hard enough to wake Ed.
"You're lucky we have to rush out of here," he told him, as he rubbed his eyes and yawned loudly. "Otherwise I'd have taken a million pictures and taunted you for the rest of the day."
"Eh, shut up," Ed groaned, and he lifted Winry off his lap, and headed towards the door.
Al felt his pocket vibrate as they headed to Ed's apartment, and unlocked his screen to see a text from an unknown number. It read:
(7:11): It was great meeting you, too. Can't wait for next time. :)
Al beamed as he ran to his suitcase and grabbed a change of clothes, calculating just how long it would be before he could visit his brother, and Mei, again.
:
:
: